Requirements Document, Essay Example

Requirements Gathering Process for a Project

The generally accepted method of collecting requirements for a systems development project is via the use of a Functional Specification of Requirements (FRS).  This document defined the capabilities and the functions that the system will be required to be built upon. As such, it remains an important foundation document and important terms of reference throughout the systems lifecycle of the project. The FRS contains a number of important features in the requirements gathering process:

• Defines the data which needs to be captured for the system
• Looks at operational functions for each screen
• Completes work-flow analysis for the system
• Defines systems reports and outputs from the system
• Defines data security requirements
• Describes the regulatory framework for the system

Functional Requirements are kept straightforward for readability by a non-technical audience. They often include simple IPO Charts [Input, Process, and Output].   The functional specification defines what the system must perform.  At this time, we also collect the User Requirements, which provides the users requirements against the system specification. (Ofni Systems, 2011)

Importance of Quality Management

The Requirement Management Documents are the foundation documents for any system and as such are amongst the most important documents in the systems lifecycle process.  Due diligence needs to take place against these documents and the Quality Assurance Plan is built against these documents in order to set the Quality benchmarks and measurement standards for the entire build process.  At this junction QA is concerned with completeness checks i.e. have all the technical, business and user requirements been fully defined.  Are these logical and make sense, critical examination of such documents as the workflow analysis, context diagrams etc. (Jaideep, 2009)

Strategies for Requirements Management

The Illustration above shows a sound strategy for requirements management.  This is based upon four main components.  1. Functional Requirements – The description of the technical and systems requirements. 2. The User Requirements – defining what the end users expect to derive from the completed operational system 3.  Quality Assurance – Examination of the early Quality issues on the project and 4. Due Diligence – background reality check on the foundation requirements of the project.  This cyclical strategy encompasses the main requirements and definition phase covering most project requirements.  Due Diligence being one of the most important components that is often overlooked i.e. is the project feasible based upon the requirements definition from the early phase of the work. It considers how heavily constrained the project is.  (Wright, J.F. 2011)

Works Cited

Jaideep. (2009, 5 18). Quality Assurance and Project Management. Retrieved 8 5, 2011, from IT Knowledge Exchange: http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/quality-assurance/vendor%E2%80%99s-role-in-involving-customer-top-management-while-requirement-gathering-phase/

Ofni Systems. (2011). Functional Requirements. Retrieved 8 5, 2011, from Ofni Systems: http://www.ofnisystems.com/Validation/Functional_Requirements.htm

Wright, J. F. (2011). Technical Due Diligence. Retrieved 8 5, 2011, from James F. Wright Ph.D: http://www.drjfwright.com/tddr.html